Silenced Trial
by Auxor
Summary: An Elite gazes on as a superior is sentenced to death for heresy against the Covenant. A grudging respect is all that is left for him and Lekin 'Erkazee is the warrior who dares to breathe the words that the silent majority dare not say. Set during Halo2


Halo: Unleashed Fury

The shrieking and hollering of the mass was intensifying. Creatures of all kind were gathered here in the Place of Heresy within the Holy City of High Charity. Home of the Covenant and testament to all they had salvaged from their Gods.

The hisses of Kig-Yar and maniacal laughter coming from the clumps of Unggoy were beginning to irritate Lekin 'Erkazee to the core of his being but he knew his fellow Sangheili warriors wouldn't tolerate it and he couldn't afford to make them look foolish and rash in front of the barbaric Jiralhanae. Clad in the white armour of an Ultra Elite, Lekin was proud to serve the Covenant in their search for the holy rings but he knew that a breaking point was almost reached as what amounted to a societal cabin fever was appearing within the holy Covenant, the people wanted enlightenment and they wanted it now.

He could feel their sacred Covenant beginning to crumble with petty rivalries between species, the Kig-Yars and the Unggoy, the Sharquoi and the Lekgolo and.. the Sangheili and their 'Brute' rivals. The Elites had begin to colloquially use the phrase 'Brute' when regarding their Jiralhanae rivals, it had been picked up by soldiers on the front line of the cleansing against the Humans and had evidentally caught on, even among Lekin's own disciplined ranks.

One of the other Elites glanced over at Lekin, "Someone needs to teach them arrogant fools a lesson" he growled as a pack of Brutes swaggered past. Their blue, red and gold armours standing in direct contrast to their own. The Jiralhanae had recently adopted the new colour scheme to fit in with what the Elites had done many Ages before much to the High Council's annoyance.

"Silence" Lekin hushed the warrior, "We need to see which one is being sentenced for heresy. Hopefully it isn't… him"

The Major Elite nearby glanced up at him nervously, if the Brutes had brought in the Supreme Commander himself, the one who had purged Reach! All hell would break loose. They were then silent and the group of Elites looked on as a large pair of doors hissed open with their slightly irritating chime. Most of the Grunts, Jackals and Hunters near the doors quieted down and devolved into hisses and suspicious glares as a pair of unarmoured Brutes heaved forward dragging along a figure dressed in sparkling gold.

"By the Rings no!" 'Erkazee murmured, it was him! The Elite was going to be sentenced for heresy and the Brutes were certainly proud of being the ones who were being there for the punishment. Several of the Grunts jeered as the Commander was paraded past and then one of the Minor Elites clad in shining cobalt whacked the Grunt in the head growling in anger as he did so. The Brutes continued forward toward the dais and the Zealot stayed with him, no fear showing on his face. His four jaws however were slightly scarred from recent torture most likely inflicted by Tartarus and his ilk.

The distant clouds of High Charity mixed with the purple pillars and billowing plasma created a serene image of the entire starship, in the far distance was the Forerunner Keyship that was to be the centrepiece of the Covenant's Great Journey. _Our transcending into the next world._

Lekin was tapped on the shoulder by someone and he turned his reptilian head around to face him, it was another Elite who was wearing white armour like his own but he knew he wasn't of the same rank or division as him and instead demanded respect. His name was R'tas 'Vadumee and he was the leader of a large section of the Covenant Special Operations division. "Is it true that Thel Vadamee was sentenced guilty to war crimes?' the Elite inquired. "See for yourself friend" Lekin replied gesturing towards the three figures who had just reached the raised platform at the front of the hall.

The pure white clad warrior had an extremely regal poise, his very presence seemed to warrant an immediate subduing of any egotistical thoughts that Lekin or any other soldier would have. He was no doubt of the finest class a Sangheili warrior could be and had notably and recently proven himself on the vessel _Infinite Succor_ by fighting off The Parasite and losing a jaw in the process. He had been fondly nicknamed 'Half-Jaw' by the Elites serving under him and they did not mean in as an insult, he was almost infamous among the upper echelons of the Covenant for having a soft spot for the Unggoy under his command, something apparently rare.

Vadumee glanced at the Supreme Commander who was softly speaking to his Brute captors flanking him and the monster Tartarus; his eyes seemed to change expression into one of controlled anger. He nodded respectfully to Lekin and then moved away, his mandibles twitching in thought and suppressed hatred. This seemed to confuse 'Erkazee, could the situation have struck a nerve in the Commander? He'd heard rumours that the two had known each other from service and had possibly been at the Sacred Ring at the same time. Such information was dangerous to possess but surely Lekin wasn't the only one who had gathered this extremely obvious knowledge, it must be simmering in the minds of his fellow Covenant, pupils to the great Forerunners and inheritors of all they had left behind.

Lekin had served a distinguished career, being at the forefront of several invasions and raids into Human controlled space and against space pirates which had permeated their own region of the Galaxy in recent years, increasingly they were Kig-Yar armed with stolen Covenant weaponry and ones not sanctioned by the Ministry of Tranquillity. The warrior had himself been at the head of an army which had surged into the mountain bases of Sigma Octanus IV and had single handedly sliced his way through the command leadership using only his trusty Energy Sword, striking fear into the corrupted hearts of his opponents.

Jeers began to heighten in pitch and the numerous races of the Covenant gazed down upon their shamed warrior. The Brute Chieftain who had raised his race in the Prophet's eyes was brandishing the burning cauterising metal that was to symbolise the death of Thel' Vadamee in the eyes of the people.

The Mark of Shame was the most humiliating thing one could ever endure and showed the Fleetmaster as a heretic, _worthy of neither pity or mercy_ he murmured to himself, words that were inscribed in the Writ of Union which all warriors must repeat in order to become part of the Covenant military. _"On and on shall old war go, without respite my blood will flow" _cried out some of the Elites in the stands, one of a rival faction within the Covenant Fleet to Vadamee, in a mocking and derogatory manner. The Sangheili regretted his words when a pair of orange armoured figures strode into the chamber behind him, their Energy Staves shimmering with light. The Honour Guards gestured for him to come with them and the Elite in question's mandibles flickered with outrage at suffering such an indignity.

Lekin made a mental note to laugh later when he was back in his quarters, for now he had to maintain the role of quiet and content warrior, one without any qualms of quarrels with other Sangheili.

A pair of orange Unggoy, vaporous methane spilling from their masks and eery chuckles emanating from their carniverous mouths, darted forwards past 'Erkazee carrying a fetid mush that Lekin believed to be something to do with the Unggoy's disgusting reproduction system.

He outstretched his arms and rashly strode in front of the two gainting creatures, he clenced his powerful forearm against the smaller fetid Unggoy's necks and lifted them up to his face. Fear was the only thing he could see in those dark and emotion spilling eyes, they whimpered in futile terror.

"Even in his last moments," Lekin firmly told them, "The Heretic will demand respect, even from little _chelqha_ such as you". The two Unggoy nodded among a frenzy of affirmatives and high pitched squeaks, the powerful Elite stared at them and brutally tossed them down to the ground.

The pair of them fled shrieking in abject agony, red marks lining their small and insignificant neckline and Sangheilli spittle drenched over their faces.

Lekin turned back to his subordinates who were staring at him, their dark eyes glazed in admiration and respect for his actions. A Major Elite trotted over to him, his hooved feet slowly making their way towards him. 'Erkazee glared at him in case he was thinking of trying anything but instead the warrior motioned towards a small purple object fixed to the wall, a microphone of some kind. "Sir.." the red Elite started but was cut off with a curt hand gesture from Lekin, the Ultra sighed to himself and turned to see a pair of Honour Guards clawing their way through the crowd, their eyes barely visible through their red helmets but fixated directly on him. One of them knocked a careless Kig-Yar out of the way and they strode up to him.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to come with us warrior" the first one said, 'Erkazee knew that defending the Supreme Commander had been a mistake and he was going to pay for it. The Sangheilli nodded obediently and put his hands in an easily accesible position, the two Honour Guards glanced at each other in surprise at the willingness of the Ultra and cleared an exit through the hollering crowd of vicious creatures beating drums and shrieking out.

The three Elites strolled towards the exit, the crowd fixed on the spectacle of the former Thel' Vadamee being branded a heretic, they did not even notice him be taken. Lekin looked towards the small purple doorway the Honour Guards were taking him to and winced, _I wonder which Prophet will interrogate me for my foolish words._ His unspoken words hung around the circle of Elites and they pushed him through into the darkness ahead.

Lekin 'Erkazee, the face of the silent majority, knew what was ahead of him.


End file.
